A World of Fallen Heroes
by LM541
Summary: 5 years since Batman retired and the world needs him now more than ever, when the Justice League is plunged into a seemingly endless war Bruce is forced out of retirement and dons the suit once again. But in a world that's moved on in his absence, will the legend of The Batman live on?
1. Prologue

_"If you people can't see the potential risk of an out of control Justice League then I don't need to wait for a vote, I don't belong up here."_

That was almost 5 years ago now and that made it all the more uncomfortable for Bruce to be back on the Watchtower. He'd called a meeting with the other founders, they would find out soon enough anyway, but he felt an obligation to tell them himself. As he walked through the halls of the space station he saw almost every other hero move out if his way, they all feared the legend of the Batman but perhaps today more than ever. Since leaving the League, Bruce had spent extra time reinforcing his myth, making most people believe he was more than just a man in a bat-costume, it was all theatrics. That was all that Batman was in the end, all that he was, just smoke and mirrors.

The metals doors to the founders room slid open for him as he approached, the computer recognising the override code in his belt, giving him access to every part of the station. Sat around the circular table was each of the founders; Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, J'onn J'onzz and Hawkgirl. The six fell silent when he walked in, each of them knowing what he was going through, and by the look in her eyes Diana was already anticipating what he was about to say. Bruce stopped behind the chair he used to sit at, he let out a heavy breath.

"I called you all here for one reason, you'd all find out soon enough but I owe it to you to tell you first. As of tonight, I'm...going into retirement."

Flash looked more shocked than anyone, Bruce had expected that, the others gave him sympathetic nods, none of them wanting to be the first to speak. Clark stood up from his chair and took a step forward, offering his hand which, surprisingly out of character, the Batman shook.

"Good luck, Bruce."

Turning to face the others Bruce nodded.

"I know we may have all had differences at one time or another, but it was an honour to serve with you."

With lighting speed Barry was at Bruce's side.

"Hug me Allen and I'll break more bones than you knew you had."

With a look of amusement, and a well masked fear, the Flash shook Batman's hand.

"An honour serving with you too."

With that, Bruce turned and left. Not wanting to risk anymore goodbyes.

That night The Batman was out on patrol one last time, he fought with exceptional force, everyone last criminal out on the streets was thrown in GCPD lockup. The next morning Bruce Wayne was going to make a significant investment in building a more secure prison for Gotham's criminal class.

4 o'clock in the morning and the first hint of sun light peaked over the horizon, waking slowly onto the roof of the GCPD building Bruce saw Jim Gordon. The older man turned to face him.

"You know he hasn't stopped talking about it, I didn't want to believe him at first but well...I'm sor..."

"This is the end Jim," Bruce cut over the Commissioner "this is the last time...we meet."

"It's really over?" Jim relied, somewhat amazed.

"Goodbye Jim."

Turning Batman walked away, it was the first time Jim had seen him in the sunlight, maybe it really was time.

 **A/N: leave a review, it always helps**


	2. 1 - First Night

Rain thudded heavily against the wall-length windows, the occasional bolt of lightning illuminating the dark room with twisted shadows. An armchair sat in the centre of the room, in front of it stood a television, it's dim light faintly revealing the room's sole occupant. The sound of ice clinking against glass rang out loudly as the man took a large gulp of his whiskey, placing the antique glass back down on the mahogany table soon after. Tapping a button on the remote sound began to bubble from the TV, the image of a young woman displayed.

"Ralph Dibny, perhaps better known as 'Elongated Man' is the latest hero to fall in the Justice League's ongoing war with..."

The television fizzles and the channel changes over, another news reporter, this time a middle-aged man.

"This conflict has entered it's 5th month, with over 20 of Earth's mightiest having been confirmed either dead or missing in action..."

Another change. An average citizen. Terrified. He should be.

"This has gone on long enough, the League has never taken this long to..."

Change again.

"...and what about him, he should be here..."

Change.

"No one cares if he retired..."

Again.

"He never let this happen before..."

The voices start merging into one, so many lives.

"...would always fight..."

"Never the first to stop..."

"The question on everyone's lips..."

"He needs to be back in the fight..."

"Where is BATMAN?"

The lights flickered in the old cave, he walked silently, feeling more at home here than he'd ever felt in the stately manor above him. A swarm of bats flew straight into him, the swift creatures flying all around his body. Inhaling deeply he embraced their presence as old friends, continuing through the cave.

The glass cabinet before him stretched out for a short distance, containing the old outfits from days long since past. Standing in front of the largest of them he stared at his reflection, seeing how even now it would fit him perfectly.

"You tried to hide me, but you're weak. Without me you're nothing, a pathetic shell of a man." His reflection seemed to speak to him.

Suddenly the light from my the stairwell clicked on, casting an unnatural, dull glow across some of the large cavernous room. A figure appeared in the stairwell, silhouetted by the light.

"Master Bruce? You set of the alarm sir, is...is everything alright?"

The younger man grinned, a look of pride and twisted joy on his face.

"It's time."

 **A/N: I did intend this chapter to be a lot longer but I thought I'd just give you guys the idea of the story and get into the plot next time**


	3. 2 - Family Trouble

**A/N: So I'm going to say a little thanks to ALEKILE for pointing out my nod to Justice League: Doom, this isn't really a direct follow on from that, I've picked out some pieces of story from a few different continuities and put them together with some plot of my own. There's stuff from JL Doom, The Dark Knight Returns, the JL TV series and even the Arkham games. So you'll be seeing a lot of pre-existing plot within my own universe. So this chapter is sorta split into two, the first half was supposed to go on chapter one but I wanted to get it uploaded quickly so I left it out, the second half is the actual chapter two. Anyway I've rambled enough, enjoy!**

The night sky was heavy in Gotham City, thick clouds blocked out the weak light which shone from the moon. What little light illuminated the city came from street lamps, their flickering yellow glow virtually haunting the old pathways. The rain still fell with a fury, forceful thunder and lighting accompanying it.

Atop one of Gotham's buildings a figure stood, hidden by the shadow of the night. A brief bolt of lightning illuminated him for a moment, before he faded back into the dark. He looked out on his city, it felt to him as though nothing had changed, these were still his hunting grounds and they were still his prey.

A scream sounded out in the city below, without hesitation he turned towards it and in the blink of an eye he was gone, leaping into the night.

In the streets, Gotham was still the same, a breeding ground for criminal. Though the world had moved on since the reign of The Batman and the criminal classes had moved with it. This was a new game, with new players.

Though some things remained the same, a mugger stealing a purse, in a dark alley a woman and her son walked alone. Out of the shadow stepped a man, his hand tightly gripping an old revolver pistol. Before he could make any demands she screamed, if there was a night to be robbed she chose the best one. As the man stepped towards them, he turned the gun to the boy, threatening her to silence. Then...he appeared. Dropping out of the sky, a black shadow, the figure landed on the mugger, throwing him straight to the ground. The sound of bone crunching ran out in the alley and a wailing scream sounded, then...nothing. Out of fear the woman and the boy backed away, but as quickly as the figure arrived it disappeared.

A few blocks away, a two groups of men were meeting, two brief cases laid out on wooden crates. One filled with stacks of bills, the other bricks of yellow powder. Each group was armed, then the two lead men shook hands, the cases were exchanged. As they turned to walk away a crack and a hiss sounded, and the small square filled with heavy grey smoke. The men spluttered, the air getting too thick to breathe. None of them could expect what would happen next. One by one they fell, the sounds of punches and the cracking of bone echoing. The ones who didn't drop first raised their guns, for all the good it did them. By the time the smoke had cleared there was not a conscious body left.

And the night went on, every mugging, every gang deal, every robbery were stopped and the news spread quickly. By sunrise every criminal in the city who wasn't incapacitated had heard of the creature which appeared from the night and broke the bones of anyone who dared commit crime. The events had hit hard at GCPD, every officer baffled by the amount of criminals they had brought in during the night. Through his old contacts the news had even reached ex-commissioner James Gordon.

"And there was no evidence at the scene of an attacker?"

The other voice on the phone spoke his response.

"Thanks Cash, keep me updated."

Jim put the phone down on the stand with a chuckle. Picking up a match he lit a cigar and sat back in his chair, looking out the window at the sunrise. He chuckled again.

"Stubborn bastard."

The sun rose over Gotham City, the fearsome shadows of the night fading away with a light which seemed brighter than it had for many a year. Bruce Wayne stood at a window in Wayne manor, looking out at the sunrise. He knew there would be plenty of criminals breathing easier now that day had broke.

For the first time in many years Bruce's face was taken over by a genuine, satisfied smile. His bones ached somewhat, but he felt younger than he had done since his retirement. Bruce looked down at the glass in his hand, the mixture a style of health tonic he hadn't drunk for years, a welcome change from his current liquid diet of whiskey. He took a large flip from the glass and instantly gritted his teeth, forgetting the near vile taste of the mix. Bruce steeled himself and drank the rest down in one painful swig. Letting out a heavy sigh he turned and walked over to the television, switching it on to the first news channel he came across. He took a step back to observe the broadcast, placing his glass down on a nearby table.

Two female anchors were at the news desk, one a young brunette, Bruce guessed in her early 20's and the other a slightly older blonde, maybe in her late 30's, both of them looking somewhat amazed at the news.

The older spoke first "Citizens of Gotham were left amazed last night as an incredible number of crimes throughout the city were stopped last night. As of yet there is no official word from the GCPD, though there is talk from Gothamites of a vigilante being involved."

The younger quickly took over. "Some citizens have even gone so far as to suggest that this could have been the work of Gotham's legendary Batman. Many of our younger viewers now see him as little more than a myth though there are those of us who remember his campaign against Gotham's criminal class."

"If this is truly the return of the Batman then we'll be seeing a whole new Gotham," the younger anchor started "though even 5 years after his last confirmed sighting the debate on whether his one man war on crime was right or wrong still continues."

"Joining us for a short point vs. point is managing editor of The Daily Planet, Lois Lane and ex-Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon."

The feed changed to a split image, half the screen showed Lois and the other half Jim. Bruce grinned, he knew Jim would fight for him even now.

"Miss Lane," the younger began, a small box with the two anchors in appearing in the corner of the screen. "In his active years you were perhaps Batman's strongest critic, how do you take to the idea of his return?"

Bruce's eyes flicked over to Lois, she looked younger than he thought she would, then again he's never paid too much attention to her in the first place.

"As far as I'm concerned," Lois immediately looked angry. "the return of Batman only means one thing, crime in Gotham getting worse. Before the Batman arrived there was none of these so called 'super criminals' operating out of Gotham and then 5 years after his first appearance the city was home to the largest rogues gallery in the U.S. How can the citizens of Gotham even begin endorse someone who so blatantly disregards the law?"

"In his time Batman may have taken liberties in regards to the law, but it's impossible to deny the fact that after he showed up crime in Gotham plummeted." Jim cut over her.

Bruce smiled, Lois' expression was one of fury, the woman had an incredibly short fuse.

"Mr. Gordon." The other anchor began.

"Call me Jim, please." The old man smiled smugly, he always could play a crowd, Bruce thought they were a lot alike in that way.

"Okay...Jim, you have always been a great supporter of Batman, how can you support someone with such a disregard for law and order?"

"It's more complicated than people think, you can't look at Batman's actions as just vigilantism. He's not like the others, he can't run faster than a speeding bullet, he can't leap tall buildings in a single bound, he's not immortal but what he is, is a symbol. A symbol that shows us we can take back our lives from fear, that we can stand up to crime and injustice with or without a badge. Even if this vigilante isn't really him it just goes to show that the legend of Batman will live on even without him."

Alfred Pennyworth entered the room, disturbing Bruce's thoughts. He turned to face the older man.

"Alfred you should take a look at this." Bruce smiled.

"Sir, young Master Grays..."

Alfred was cut off when a young man stormed into the room, he was wearing a biker jacket and his hair was a lightly spiked. Bruce recognised him as Dick Grayson immediately.

"Bruce what the hell do you think you're doing?!" The younger man spat out as he marched right up to Bruce.

"Good to see you too, Dick." Bruce flashed him a smug grin.

"What are you thinking going back out there? Don't even try to deny it I know that it was you last night Bruce, no one else would dare operate like that in Gotham."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bruce said with a cocky smile.

"Damn it Bruce this isn't a joke, you have no idea..." Dick trailed off, his anger turning to worry.

"Idea about what?" Bruce asked curiously.

Dick sighed "Look the world's moved on since you retired, it's changed out there, the villains have changed."

Bruce could tell there was something Dick wasn't telling him, maybe now wasn't the time to press him for details, he would find out eventually anyway.

"Crooks don't change that much Dick. Are criminals still cowardly and superstitious?" Bruce asked with a half grin.

"Well...I.." Dick stammered a little and then sighed "yes."

"Then that's good enough for me."

"You're can't just roll back out there like it's 5 years ago, they don't stand for the way we work like they used to, even Blüdhaven PD are treating me differently, you wouldn't believe the looks I got last time I dropped a crook off at the precinct."

Bruce stood a little taller and inhaled deeply, a look of restrained anger on his face.

"We don't do this for respect or praise Dick, so what if a cop gives you a few odd looks? They'd never understand why we do what we do, the mission is the only thing that matters."

"The mission?!" Dick's voice quickly raised to subtle anger, which built the more he spoke "All you've ever cared about is your damned mission. Were we ever anything more to you other than soldiers in your war?"

"Of course you were more to me than soldiers Dick, but..." Dick quickly cut his former mentor off.

"Are you sure?" Dick's anger quickly spiralled out of control "If you ever considered us more than that then maybe you wouldn't have robbed me of my childhood, maybe Jason wouldn't be..."

"Don't you say a word about Jason!" Bruce's anger was let lose, his voice filling the room. His breathing was suddenly heavy and erratic, he steeled himself and calmed down.

"Jesus Bruce, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Dick's eyes gave his sorrow away more than his words, Bruce saw the younger's anger was just like his own when he was that age.

"It's alright Dick, what happened to Jason...it hit us all hard."

"You more than most, I don't think you would have ever retired otherwise."

A bleeping sounded from Dick's jacket and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a phone. He checked the screen and quickly typed a response.

"Look I can't stay, I just wanted to warn you. You've always been loud Bruce, soon as the League confirms you're really back they're going to be out here trying to draft you into this damned war."

"They've approached you?" Bruce knew the answer already, even in his retirement he'd kept an eye on the operations of Nightwing in Blüdhaven.

"Of course they did, with you in retirement I was the closest thing they had to a Batman."

"And?" Another question he already knew the answer to.

"I refused, I'm not like you Bruce, you taught me everything I know but I'm _not_ you."

"I trained you well Dick, if anyone could have taken my place on the League it should have been you."

"Thanks Bruce, look I have to get going, I've been tracking a flow of weapons from Gotham into Blüdhaven. That's the reason I'm in town, I'm meeting Barbara."

Bruce smiled. "Barbara's coming back out of retirement too?"

"She never gave the old job up, she's just been doing it from inside the law." Dick's face warmed with a smile as he thought of Barbara.

"If you need anything on this end let me know what I can do."

"Of course, I'll see you around Bruce." With that Dick turned and left the room, Bruce watched him walk away with a look of well masked pride.

Alfred followed Dick out of the room and to the doors of the manor, Bruce heard the two exchange a few words before the older man returned.

"Master Dick certainly seems to be in high spirits at the prospect of seeing Miss Gordon again."

"After what happened between them in the old days it's hardly surprising Alfred, the two of them were inseparable at one time."

"I remember it well sir, how unfortunate it is they never made a go of it, so to speak."

"The Tamaranean made sure that never happened."

"It's as they say Master Bruce, like father like son, though in this case like mentor like protégé would be more accurate."

Bruce looked at Alfred with a look of mild confusion. "How do you mean?"

"Well sir, you both dabbled in relations with women who see us humans as mere sights and smells."

"You could hardly call Dick's relationship with Kori dabbling Alfred," Bruce paused for a moment, realising what Alfred was suggesting "and for your information nothing ever happened between Diana and myself."

Alfred smiled at his employer. "Whatever you say Master Bruce," the older man turned and began to walk out of the room "whatever you say."

With Alfred gone Bruce couldn't help but ponder what he had said. It was true that he and Diana had something between them at one time but it would never have worked, she was practically immortal and now, even after these last 5 years she wouldn't look a day older.

Bruce sighed and took a seat in his armchair, in which he had spent many a night these past 5 years drinking bottle after bottle of whiskey. He looked back up at the television, seeing that the topic of conversation had drifted away from the possible return of Batman, which he was glad for. Bruce knew media attention was unavoidable, but for the most part he hoped to delay it for as long as possible.

With a sigh he switched off the TV and rose from his seat, crossing the room he reached the old grandfather clock and pushed it open, revealing the stairs to the cave. He headed down them, the walk feeling different to what it was last night.

He walked out into the open space, the cold air circling around him. He moved across the room and to the set of old suits still held within the glass cabinet. He walked along it, first watching the evolution of his own costume before reaching the others. He listed them off as he walked; Barbra, Dick...Jason.

Bruce paused when he reached the last one, the once brightly coloured Robin costume still darkened. The suit was covered in rips and tears, but he'd salvaged it all, even the tatters of the mask were mounted in the cabinet. It was a reminder of why he retired once but now a symbol of why he still fought. Bruce pressed his hand to the glass, lowering his head in shame.

"Jason..." He muttered under his breath. "I'm sorry."

"Master Bruce?" He heard Alfred's voice of concern from the stairs. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just remembering a promise." Bruce's voice showed now tell of his emotion.

"Which was, sir?"

"Never again."

"What happened to Master Todd was not your fault, you did all you could," Alfred walked further into the cave, slowly approaching Bruce. "He knew the risks."

Bruce knew Alfred was doing his best, it would have consoled most people, but Bruce Wayne was not most people. He stood up, and straightened his back, turning to face Alfred he spoke.

"At best I've got a week until the League are here trying to either to persuade me back to retirement or persuade me to go to war. I've got that long to regain the support of the public and the GCPD and then clean up Gotham."

Bruce walked over to the Batcomputer, taking a seat in his chair and powering it up. Using the trapdoors Barbra had built in he accessed the GCPD network, pulling up the latest 'Most Wanted' case files.

He quickly scanned through them, one catching his attention almost immediately. It was marked with a red border, the words 'TOP PRIORITY' stamped over the top.

"Mr. Freeze." Bruce spat out, albeit with a little confusion. To Bruce's knowledge Victor had been locked up since his attempt to steal components to build a new cryo-chamber for Nora.

"It would seem that the good doctor has broken out of Arkham sir, what peculiar timing."

"There's nothing untoward about the timing Alfred, he's been out of jail for almost two weeks now, strange that the press haven't caught wind."

"Or that GCPD haven't notified the general public of the danger."

As he began to look further into the files the computer feed quickly changed to a live video feed. On the display was an angry looking redhead, a pair of glasses balanced on her nose.

"Bruce did you seriously think I wouldn't be monitoring the trapdoors I built into this system." Barbara Gordon spoke with a calmed fury.

"Barbra, I..." Bruce was quickly cut off by her.

"I can't believe you went back into the field without telling me. Don't even try to deny it, I've just spoken with Dick. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking it was about time Batman stood up for Gotham again."

"Damn it Bruce, you always were too stubborn for your own good. If you're seriously going back out there..."

"I am." Bruce swiftly cut her off,

"Then...you're going to need help."

"Are you offering to come back?" Bruce asked, ensuring she wasn't just acting irrationally.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on you out there, sure I may not be able to do what I did as Batgirl but I was just as useful as Oracle."

Bruce sighed, so long as she was in the cave she wouldn't come to any harm, he wouldn't be risking her.

"Be here by sundown tonight, and bring anything you've got on Nightwing's weapons smuggling case."

Bruce switched off the video feed before Barbara could reply. He leaned back in his chair with a smile.

"It would seem you're putting the band back together, sir." Alfred spoke with a slight chuckle.

"It was you who taught me the value of allies Alfred."

"Then it would seem even the smallest amount of what I tried to teach you seems to have sunk in."

Alfred smiled and walked away before Bruce could defend himself. Looking around the cave Bruce couldn't help but to feel like he'd never retired, like nothing had changed at all.

 **A/N: That's all for this chapter. I'll be uploading every Friday from now on, and if I happen to have a chapter finished early possibly a bonus one on a Sunday. Leave a review guys, it always helps me with the motivation to write.**


	4. 3 - Nice To Have You Back

Sunset in Gotham City was something Bruce had learnt to appreciate over the last 5 years, given that he had barely seen it since he began his career as Batman. Tonight he was going to be missing it again, he did watch it however through a video feed, waiting for night to consume the city.

Bruce donned his suit half an hour before sundown, the cowl pulled down as he stood at his armoury, packing his utility belt for the night. He had no particular target so packed the basics; batarangs, a grapnel launcher and the other necessities, as well as a handful of newly modified smoke pellets. At the sound of footsteps behind him and the sound of rubber passing over stone he finished his preparation and, clipping the belt around his waist, he turned.

At the top of the stairs was Barbara Gordon, a nostalgic smile on her face. Alfred was already at the bottom of the stairwell by the time Bruce turned and he walked straight to the Batmobile, beginning the usual checks on the car.

"Honestly Bruce, how are you expecting me to get down there?" Barbara asked with a hint of sarcasm.

She made Bruce smile, her confinement to a wheelchair had never damaged her sense of humour. He paced over to the base of the stairwell and pressed a button on the wall, accompanied by a soft beep the stairs moved, rotating until they formed a smooth ramp down to the cave floor. With a subtle laugh Barbara moved herself down into the cave and came to a stop in front of Bruce.

"It's good to see you again, Barbara."

"It's good to see you too, Bruce," she nodded at him and took a look around the cave "Looks like you kept the place in decent condition."

"Actually Miss Gordon, that was my handiwork." Alfred's voice sounded out.

"Didn't doubt it for a second, Alfred." Barbara chuckled.

"The computer's all set up for you." Bruce stated, nodding towards the Batcomputer.

"You've given that an upgrade." She smiled, heading towards it.

"I had Lucius send over the latest in military computer hardware, and I uploaded all of your old programming to it." Bruce followed her over to the machine as he spoke.

"Hmm," Barbara began, typing a few commands "I'm going to need to update some of this software, I should have it done by the time you get into the city."

"Thanks Barbara," Bruce turned to Alfred and walked over to the car.

"How's the car looking Alfred?"

"Minus a few scrape marks and one impressive layer of dust she's completely road worthy, sir."

"Good, then I'll head out now."

With that Bruce climbed into the seat of the car and, pulling his cowl up over his head, he turned on the engine. The roaring sound that followed greeted him like an old friend. Bruce closed the cockpit and placed his hands on the wheel, it definitely didn't feel like anything had changed. With a grin his booted foot slammed into the accelerator and the car jumped into life, speeding away from the cave.

The car broke out into the open, racing across the dirt tracks behind Wayne manor and then onto the road into Gotham. Feeling the speed pull against the car was a familiar sensation, it was the way Bruce had started almost every night for the better part of 15 years. He pressed the comms button on the car and spoke.

"Barbara, any suggestions where I should start the night?"

"I'm tapped into the GCPD network and I'm not picking up any crimes in progress..." Her voice trailed off for a moment. "Scratch that, a squad car has just responded to a robbery at...Faust Jewellers. Culprits are still on the scene."

Bruce glanced down at the digital map of the city on the car's control console.

"I'm two minutes out, thanks Barbara."

Slamming the accelerator all the way down Bruce kicked in the afterburner, propelling the car toward even faster. After another minute he was in the city, skilfully dodging the traffic. With a sharp turn Bruce drove the car into a dark alley and his honed reflex's kicked in, seemingly slowly time. Within a fraction of a second he hit the brake, the car coming quickly to a stop and his hand bashed a red button on the command console. The cockpit opened and Bruce was fired from the car 'like a bullet from a rail gun', as Lucius had put it.

The electromagnetic eject mechanism was something Lucius had designed a while back, but had never really come into too much use. It propelled Bruce up into the sky, far faster than he remembered, he reached out and pulled the suit's cape taunt, feeling the wind catch under it. Then he was gliding over the city, racing along the sky at a miraculous speed.

In the street below he saw the police cruiser chasing down a muscle car, of which two of the four occupants were firing at the officers. Bruce turned to follow the street and began to lower himself towards the cars.

There were only two officers in the police cruiser. One of them was an older man, in his early 50's, the other a young man, fresh out of the academy. The older was driving, his eyes fully focused on car ahead. The younger looked up, seeing the odd shadow cast over the car.

"Hey, did you see that?" He asked the older.

"I can't look right now kid." He shortly replied.

"It's freaking weird." The younger mumbled.

"Jesus, what is..." The older looked up "Holy smokes." He gasped, seeing the familiar silhouette on the skyline.

Bruce dropped even lower, getting ready to pounce on the unsuspecting criminals below. He was disturbed by a bleeping in his ear.

"Bruce, the manger of that store is dating they've stolen just over 3 quarters of a million dollars in precious gems, try not to lose any."

"Got it." Bruce replied impatiently.

Below him the police cruiser began to slow. The younger cop was beyond confused.

"Woah, why are you slowing down?"

The older smiled. "You're in for one helluva show tonight kid."

Bruce released his cape and fell from the sky, landing with a loud bang on the roof of the muscle car. The shocked shouts of the occupants sounded out as he left a dent in the roof. One of the men stuck his arm out of the window, a .44 revolver in his hand, Bruce kicked down, smashing the man's wrist into the frame of the car. Going by the scream that followed Bruce was sure he'd broken the wrist. Turning to face the front of the car and reaching into his belt Bruce pulled out a small blue cylinder, which he threw with force into the windscreen of the car. The cylinder exploded with a loud crack and a layer of thick ice formed over the window, all but blinding the driver. The device he used was in fact an ice grenade, one he created from technology acquired from Victor Freeze.

The driver began to swerve, now unable to see the road. Bruce looked forward and saw the civilians running away from the site the car was headed for. Ahead of them was an old apartment complex, virtually abandoned, but for a few rats and roaches, with a 'Wayne Projects' sign mounted on the wall. As the car rapidly approached Bruce tensed, waiting until the last second to leap away, he started counting it down:

30 feet.

20 feet.

15 feet.

10 feet.

He leapt, feeling the tug of his cape behind him as he sailed through the air, rapidly approaching the second-story window. The loud crash of the car below caused the whole building to shudder and the front wall completely collapsed, sending the car spinning into the middle of the building. At the same time Bruce smashed though the window feet first, he landed on the wooden flooring of the second floor and straight away he felt how unsound the structure was.

The whole building seemed to shake, the car did a lot more damage than he'd expected. Coming to a complete freeze Bruce took in the surroundings, he could hear the building creak and the pained moans of the crooks on the floor below. Behind him he heard the police cruiser come screeching to a stop, the two officers were arguing, the older staying they should stay back and the younger insisting they go in. Bruce turned and walked to the window, the two cops saw him immediately. He said nothing, but just the way he stood seemingly told them enough. The older spoke first.

"We'll make sure they don't get out this way," he tipped his hat. "It's nice to have you back, Bats."

Bruce turned, not giving the officers any acknowledgement but knowing that they expected nothing more from him. He moved though the building until he was stood in the room above the crashed car, a collapsed segment of the floor allowing him to see the men below. The one with the broken wrist was trapped in the car, unconscious, the other three were stood around the wreck with guns in their hands all looking worried. Each of them was masked, giving Bruce no clue to who they were.

"That was The Batman." One of them spoke, a little too bravely for Bruce's liking.

"Ain't...ain't he supposed to be dead?" One of them stammered.

"Y...yeah, I thought Vix said he killed Batman." The third managed to say.

"That asshole says a lot of things, now shut up and get ready." The brave one spoke again, he must have been in charge.

This one wasn't afraid, Bruce decided right then he was going to take his time breaking these men. Reaching into his belt Bruce pulled out a few of his special smoke pellets, he'd spent days working on the formula for them, but he'd never got to test them in combat. He tossed them through the hole in the floor and watched them explode in a faint cloud which consumed the room below him.

The men started to cough and began firing their weapons in random directions, before they all separated and ran. The smoke dissipated in moments but it's affect would last much longer, now they'd see their worst nightmares, when they saw him. The pellets contained a refined version of Scarecrow's fear toxin, a severely reduced concentration. Unlike the original formula this didn't cause outright hallucinations but twisted the image that a person looked at, making even the most innocent of creatures appear as something nightmarish.

Within seconds Bruce heard the initial reactions, gasps and small shouts; there were a few rats and spiders in the building these men must have seen. He began to stalk the shadows, intentionally making the floor creak every now and again just to scare them a little more.

"This ain't right," one of them mumbled "he weren't ever supposed to have made noise before."

Bruce was following, or at least he reasonably sure he was, the crook who'd been carrying the largest piece of weaponry, an LMG, definitely military hardware. He took his time, moving slowly, tracing the sound of heavy footsteps below him. After a while he saw a broken floorboard ahead of him, something weak enough to smash through with minimal effort. Bruce took out a small, flat, circular device and threw it at the weakened floorboard. After a brief moment it exploded, causing the floorboard to splinter downwards, a few chunks of wood fell into the crooks head, resulting with him shouting out in terror. Making his move Bruce divided down the newly formed opening.

What the crook saw and what really happened were two very different things. The modified fear toxin in his system made him see Batman as a monstrous creature, even the faint flecks of dust in the air seemed like a thick smog. He was too afraid to even out his finger on the trigger, let alone get a shot off.

Bruce dropped on top of the crook, using his weight to smash the younger man to the ground. The man collapsed onto his front, he was dazed. Bruce took a final precaution and grabbed the man's collar, pulling his head up for a brief moment before smashing him back into the floorboards, leaving a considerable dent in the wood.

Footsteps came loud from behind him, by the sounds of it only one person. Diving forward, Bruce skilfully transitioned into a roll and moved to cover around the corner. Quickly approaching was the groups leader, upon seeing the other man's unconscious body he let out a small cry of fear; the toxin obviously making the body appear worse than it really was.

Tensing, Bruce prepared to make his move, he had surprise on his side, a quick enough attack and he'd be able to take him out before he even realised what had hit him. The leader took a few more paces towards Bruce's hiding spot, stepping over the body. Just as Bruce began to move away from cover a bright light filled the corridor, he couldn't tell what the light was coming from but he guessed it had to have been that rookie cop.

"Everybody freeze!"

'Yeah,' Bruce thought 'it's the rookie.'

The leader turned and Bruce knew he only had a few moments to prevent the cop from being killed. He dived out of his cover, tackling the leader with both arms. The pair traveled through the air for a moment before they came crashing to the ground, the leaders shoulders collided with the cops shins, causing him to fall with them.

Bruce began to apply pressure to the leaders bones, more than he needed to, but he was enjoying it.

Perhaps a little too much.

He heard the satisfying crunch of breaking bones and his lips curled into a sadistic smile. Bruce fully noticed the the rookie getting to his feet but paid little attention, only looking up from his prey when he heard the younger man speak.

"You're under arrest mister, you just crippled that man." His voice quivered.

"He's young, he'll walk again," Batman spoke, his voice commanding the room "but you'll stay scared, won't you punk?"

All that came in response from the leader was a pained whimper.

"Get of him...I mean it." The rookie was terrified of Batman, Bruce could tell.

"He's being patient with you as it is, kid." The older cop had arrived. "Don't push 'im"

Bruce stayed on the ground, beginning to check the leaders pockets for any evidence of where they got their weapons. He found a slip of paper with an address and time on it, for tonight, which he tucked into his belt. Looking for any other clues, he heard the rookie raise his gun again and the older cop do the same.

He'd been wondering when that last thug would show up.

The fear toxin had plenty of time to settle into the thug's system so Bruce knew he had little work to do. He stood up and turned slowly, standing tall and walking slowly towards the thug, seeing the look of fear grow on his face was priceless. Still the thug held his gun out straight, another military issue Bruce noted, he was holding out well. Taking on final step Bruce's cheat was flush against the barrel of the gun, he waited and then it happened. The thug sunk slowly to the floor, his hands dropping the gun and cradling his head, he began to rock back and forth. If it wasn't for the presence of the officers, Bruce would have laughed.

Turning, he headed back to the leader, seeing the outline of a cell phone in his jacket pocket, there might be something on it that could help them, he'd have to get it back to Barbara. Standing up Bruce looked at the officers.

"Tell the new commissioner we need to talk." Batman stated, not giving the officers the opportunity to argue.

"Yeah like hell we're going to.." The younger angrily mumbled.

"Sure thing Bats," the older cut over him "but uh...he ain't so sold on your type, you know?"

"Damned rightly so..." The younger muttered again.

The older scowled "Go and get the loot outta the car, kid."

"I don't believe this."

'Kids these days.' Bruce thought.

"Now!" The older virtually shouted and the rookie walked away. "I'll tell her but I'm not sure if she'll want to meet with you."

"You'll just have to be persuasive." Batman put it simply.

"Even if he does agree, how's he supposed to get in contact with you?" A clattering caused the older cop to turn, revealing the rookie struggling to pry the car's trunk open with a crowbar.

Using the distraction Bruce quickly turned and ran down the adjacent corridor, seemingly vanishing from sight. When the older cop turned back around he smiled, and then it clicked.

"Oh yeah," he said aloud "now I remember."

By the time he'd finished his sentence Bruce was already on the roof of the apartment building, looking at the scrap of paper in his hand. On the street below other police cars were arriving, accompanied by a set of ambulances. Bruce knew the meeting point that was written down wasn't more than a 5 minute journey on foot from his current location and the time written down wasn't for another 20 minutes, this must have been where the thieves were planning to drop off some of the diamonds, presumably to pay off the cost of the weapons.

He pressed a button on his gauntlet and opened a comms channel to the Batcave.

"Oracle, you reading me?"

"Loud and clear Bruce, what's up?"

"Get in contact with Nightwing, tell him I might have found a lead on his weapon smugglers."

"Will do, want him to tell him to come into town?"

"Not tonight, the drop of is in 20 minutes, he won't make it from Blüdhaven in time."

"Got it, I'll let him know first chance I get." She paused for a moment. "That software update I ran was a success, the old serves were compatible with my new programs, I'll get to work modifying some of the equipment tomorrow."

"Good work Oracle, Batman out."

With Barbara off comms Bruce looked out over Gotham, a city poisoned with crime and corruption. How much if it was his fault? How much of it could he really fix? Questions Bruce spent many a night trying to find a satisfying answers to, and thus far he was yet to find any. He started to make his move, crossing the rooftops of the city on foot, leaving the car where he had hidden it so as not to give himself away.

It was a short journey to the meeting point the thug had written down and he arrived at the abandoned warehouse in little time. Silently, Bruce entered through a roof hatch, dropping down into a raised walkway. He moved as quietly as possible, finding a position where he could see the group of men stood below. They were waiting around a large black car, another military issue, these guys had access to some serious hardware. There were four of them that Bruce could see, each of them armed with a pistol. Knowing that if he moved quick enough he would have to worry about the guns Bruce planned his attack.

There was nowhere for the men to cover, or him for that matter, but it gave him a chance to take them out in one go. They were stood in a near perfect arch and, so long as none of them broke that formation, it would be to take them out in quick succession. Hitting them hard would certainly work.

Although...

If he picked them off, one by one, slow but loud, he might be able to intimidate some information out of one of them. Glancing around his eyes rested on the fuse box for the building, it was at the opposite end of the warehouse but a well aimed batarang would cut the lights and leave them all in total darkness. Then they'd be easy pickings.

So 'Plan B' it was. Drawing a batarang from his belt, Bruce held the cold metal in his hand, lining up the shot, he had all the time in the world and didn't want to risk missing. With a slow breath out he threw the projectile with force and it sailed through the air for a brief moment before colliding with the fuse box. It exploded in a haze of sparks and the building went dark, the halogen lights flickering out.

The confused mutterings of the men below were amusing to listen to, but the leader quickly spoke up.

"It's a shoddy old building just relax, those meatheads will be here with the diamonds in a few minutes and we will be rich men."

That was Bruce's interrogation target, he was clearly in charge here.

Gripping his grapnel launcher Bruce dived off his perch, falling towards the men. He fired a shot, the cable attaching to a roof panel while he continued towards the floor. With his free hand Bruce reached out and grabbed the collar of one of the soldiers and then reeled in his tether, pulling the two of them skyward, be never even touched the ground. The man screamed as they traveled, the sound of pure fear was something Bruce had missed. The grapnel pulled the pair up onto the walkway and Bruce smashed the man's head into the metal handrail, knocking him out cold. The other three down below him were starting to panic.

"Oh man this weren't no power cut." One of them stammered.

"Boss we need to get outta here." The other said.

"Like hell, we're staying until we get those diamonds boys." He spoke, he was brave enough but he was yet to realise he was dealing with Batman.

The trio had drawn their guns now, and no diamonds were coming for them, they were such willing prey for Bruce. Reaching into his belt, he drew another cryo-grenade, tossing it at one of the men, it exploded and an ice layer wrapped around the man's torso. The attack was accompanied by a few gunshots, he'd pulled the trigger in panic. Without a seconds hesitation Bruce dived down at the frozen gunman, his feet colliding with the thick ice. The gunman was knocked to the floor, and knocked unconscious.

Not wasting an opportunity Bruce dived at the other gunman, knocking him off his feet and into a piece of old machinery. The attach was followed by a flurry of batarangs, which stuck into the control panel, electrifying the machine. The scream that followed as the man was incapacitated filled the room, the machinery was too old to be able to hold a leather charge. A few days in ICU and the gunman would be sent to Arkham.

The last remaining gunman was the leader, he was stood just a few feet away from Bruce, if it weren't for the dark he would have already got a shot off. Bruce turned and walked slowly towards him, just two paces away he stamped his foot down hard and barrel rolled past the gunman. In fear the leader turned and released a volley of shots, all of them landing in the wall. His breathing was getting ragged, his heart rate fluctuating, he was terrified. Taking his final move he walked right up behind the gunman, Bruce was taller by around half a foot, and he would have been a threatening sight for the gunman. Cold breathing on the back of the gunman's neck altered him to Batman's presence and he turned around with such speed it even shocked Bruce a little. The gunman practically screamed when he saw Batman and he took the chance to land an incapacitating blow to the man's skull. Bruce found himself talking aloud.

"Time to get myself some information the old fashioned way."

 **A/N: So this chapter I've actually split into two, the second half will be uploaded next Friday. I had originally aimed to go for 5k words a chapter but I've decided to cut down. Just to take the story easier to read. Let me know if you guys think I should go for longer chapters or if you prefer these slightly shorter ones?**


	5. 4 - The Bat and The Cat

**A/N: So I'm taking a tiny bit of liberty with Selina's origins here, I'm making her a fair bit younger than Bruce for the purpose of keeping as Catwoman. Being as Bruce is around 45 at this stage Selina is around 35, she would have come into Bruce's rouges gallery a little late because of that, when she was around 20, and Bruce in his late 20's/early 30's. I'm not making any promises but when this story is finished I'm considering writing a set of origin stories to explain the relationships between some of the characters. Anyway I'm rambling again, enjoy!**

"Wake up!" Batman all but shouted at the stirring gunman.

The pained groans that can next were understandable, the man did have a broken nose and in all likelihood minor concussion.

"Wha? Where am I? Hey...I can't see! I think I'm bleeding." The gunman mumbled.

"That was quite the arsenal you had back at the warehouse." Batman began "You're going to tell me where you got them."

"Not a chance bat-freak."

He was far too brave.

"That wasn't a question," Batman's voice suddenly became a lot more menacing "this is. Do you know what I am, punk? I'm your worst nightmare, the kind that makes you wake up in the middle of the night, screaming for your mother."

"Alright, alright." Now he was scared "I'll tell you, but I walk, deal?"

Batman chuckled.

"You're in no position to make a deal, here, let me show you." As Batman spoke he pulled the blindfold over the gunman's eyes.

What he saw next made him scream like a child; they were on a balcony, 30 stories up the Wayne International Plaza building. Bruce had the gunman dangling by his legs over the edge of the building, the blood rushing to his head would hopefully help loosen his tongue.

"Start talking!" Batman demanded.

Before the gunman got a chance to answer Bruce heard footsteps behind him, far too light to belong to anyone other than a professional.

"I'd listen to him if I were you, he's not always in such a good mood." The cocky voice of Nightwing came from somewhere behind Bruce.

Bruce turned his head, keeping Dick in his view as he walked across the balcony. The routine between the two was too well practiced and it always worked, even if Bruce wasn't happy that Dick was in Gotham.

"Where?!" Batman shouted at the gunman.

"Okay! I got approached by some guy a few months back, he's been supplying my boys weapons to sell on the streets. That's all I know!"

"A name!"

"He never gave me one, he only ever contacted me by text, we never even spoke. That's everything!" He was pleading by the end.

Nightwing perched himself on the railing on the edge of the balcony and reached into the gunman's jacket, procuring a cell phone. He dropped back onto the balcony and began to check the phone.

"Come on! Let me go!"

"Whatever you say." Batman spoke calmly.

Bruce released his grip on the gunman's ankle and he fell. His scream rang out in the night, as soon as Dick saw what had happened he ran for the edge, only to be stopped by Bruce's hand on his shoulder. After a brief moment there was a loud twanging and a grunt from the gunman. Looking over the edge Dick saw the gunman hanging from a cord around his ankle, the other end of which was fixed into the ground by an anchor.

"Damn it Bruce, you know for a moment there..." Dick began with a light chuckle, before being cut off by Bruce.

"I told Barbara I didn't need your help," Bruce said sharply. "You're needed in Blüdhaven."

"If this is what you think it is, it affects Blüdhaven just as much as Gotham, the best place for me is here."

"Not tonight Dick."

"His phone's encrypted, I don't want to risk trying to crack it in case there's a fail-safe. I'll take it to Barbara and then come back, you need my help here."

"Take this as well," Bruce handed Dick the phone he'd gotten from the diamond thief. "Get the phones to Barbara then go back to Blüdhaven, I need to stay quiet, I can't do that if I'm worrying about you."

"Alright, I get it, you just don't want me stealing your thunder. I'll see you around, Bruce."

Dick walked away, dripping off the edge of the balcony and out of Bruce's line of sight. Pressing the button of his gauntlet Bruce opened the line back to the Batcave.

"Alfred?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Dick is on his way to the cave with a phone that has some information on it regarding the weapons smuggling, make sure Barbara is working on it as a top priority."

"Of course sir, anything else?"

"I've got one of the arms dealers hanging from the 30th story balcony of Wayne Plaza, send an anonymous tip to GCDP."

"Right-o. In other news there's been reports coming over the police band of a burglary at the Gotham Art Gallery, apparently a few priceless pieces are on display tonight."

"I take it GCPD first responders are already on the scene?"

"Unfortunately so sir, you shall have to take care."

"Thanks Alfred. Batman out"

He tapped the button on his comms and the channel switched off. Bruce looked out at Gotham, he often came here on quiet nights, it was a good chance to look over everything in the city. Waking up to the edge he perched himself on the railing, then he dived. Racing downwards, parallel to the side of the tower, towards the road. Bruce clipped a button on his gauntlet and continued sailing down, into his vision roared the Batmobile, speeding toward him. The car pulled up right underneath him and the cockpit opened, Bruce pulled his cape out and used it like a parachute, quickly slowing himself until he landed expertly in the driver's seat. He kicked the car into life and screeched off into the streets. The gallery was on the other side of the city, so he could afford to use the car for a while, the police wouldn't catch him this far away.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred's voice came out of the comms unit.

"Go ahead Alfred."

"The police presence at the gallery has been significantly increased sir, it would seem they intend to deter you from investigating the scene."

"I'd like to see them try, I'll find an opening."

"Right you are sir, as I recall it didn't take Commissioner Gordon long to learn he couldn't keep you away from a crime scene no matter how many officers he sent your way."

"I remember, I don't think the new commissioner is going to be so easy to convince."

"Good luck, sir. Oh, and Master Grayson dropped by, Miss Gordon is looking through the devices now."

"Let me know if she finds anything."

"Of course, sir."

Bruce switched off the comms and continued driving. Using the fastest car in the city got Bruce to the gallery in almost no time at all, as he drove through the streets he saw a police perimeter, much further out than he'd anticipated. Taking a quick manoeuvre to avoid being seen, Bruce swung the Batmobile into the first alley he saw, narrowly avoiding scraping the car against the walls. The car glided to a halt, the engine winding down to a soft drone. Jumping out of the driver's seat and back out into the night Bruce looked out onto the busy road behind him, checking that he hadn't been seen.

He turned and fired his grapnel launcher into a nearby rooftop, sailing up and out of sight. The new vantage point gave Bruce a direct line of sight to the gallery, the GCPD really didn't want him investigating. There was a police presence way out of proportion for a robbery, no matter what the value of stolen goods was. From what he could see at this angle there was at least 8 cruisers and a SWAT team on site, all of them on high alert. Gritting his teeth in frustration Bruce began to jump across the rooftops, the gallery was in the centre of a late clearing, surrounded by a square of apartment buildings. The only way to reach the gallery was by crossing the square, or at least it should have been. From his belt Bruce pulled his line launcher, a device he built based of one he'd stolen from Slade Wilson, right at the start of his career. He tapped the button for his comms before lining up his shot. The cord fired and Bruce jumped up, letting the small but powerful motors carry him unseen over the clearing. His comms beeped in his ear as he travelled.

"Bruce, what's up?" Barbara's voice came over the channel.

"Bring up the GCPD files, get me everything they've already found out about this robbery."

"Sure, searching now."

Bruce heard the clicking of keys as Barbara searched the GCPD mainframe. At the same time he landed on the roof of the gallery and, clipping the line launcher back onto his belt, began to look around.

"Okay I've got something, the piece that was stolen? The frame was left behind."

"So our thief was on foot, they couldn't carry the frame."

"Yeah but get this, it was cut clean outta the frame, thief must have been in a rush."

"Or they aren't selling it," Bruce thought aloud, as he walked around the roof he came across a glass ceiling, in it a rough circle had been cut, the removed glass left next to it. "Oracle I've found the entry point, a removed segment of glass in the ceiling."

"The cut glass still there?"

"It is, thief didn't even try and hide it."

"That means either they're new..."

"Or they want to be found out." Bruce cut over her.

"So what are you waiting for, check it for prints."

"This isn't my first day on the job."

Bruce crouched down next to the removed glass and tapped a button on his gauntlet. In a brief moment his vision changed, his suit's cowl activating the built in forensic scanner. Using the scanner Bruce's eyes ran over the glass, checking for anything that could be easily overlooked.

"I've got the feed from your cowl on this end, I'm not seeing anything." Barbara's voice fizzled in Bruce's ear.

"Neither am..." Bruce paused. "Oracle enhance the image on the batcomputer."

"What am I looking for?"

"There's some sort of power on the very edge of the glass."

"I've got it, looks like some sort of metallic compound. I'm sure I've seen it somewhere before..." A few clicks of a keyboard came through the comms "sending you the enhanced image now."

In the cowl's vision mode the image appeared, for a moment Bruce studied it, it looked so familiar to him.

"Oracle it's..." Bruce was cut off when something wrapped around his neck, his hands went straight up, trying to pull it off.

His pained grunt as he was pulled onto his back travelled through he comms, much to the concern of Barbara.

"Bruce?!" She called down the line. "Alfred, something's wrong." Bruce could hear her calling out.

Not wanting to risk the distraction Bruce hit the button on his gauntlet and shut off the comms, before reaching up and yanking the tether from his neck. As he did he heard the irritated grunt of a woman, one he recognised immediately. He swung himself around and rose to his feet. A few feet away stood a woman he'd hoped wouldn't cross paths with him again.

She stood there like hardly a day had passed, still wearing the same outfit and that smug but surprisingly alluring smile. Bruce kicked himself out of his thoughts at met here eyes. She flashed him a smug grin then turned around, running towards the edge of the roof then leaping down onto the clearing, quickly making her way towards the buildings opposite. Bruce followed her, running to the edge but as he leaped he skilfully fired the line launcher again, whizzing over the ground below and just about keeping up with her. As he tried moved he heard the comms in his suit being switched on remotely, the voice of Alfred coming over the speaker.

"Master Bruce, are you alright?" He sounded worried.

"I'm fine Alfred, our thief is Catwoman, I'm in pursuit."

"Miss Kyle? She went completely dark after your retirement; it would seem Master Dick had attempted to keep tabs on her but..."

"She's getting away, I've gotta go." Bruce cut Alfred off as he climbed up onto a roof, switching off his comms again.

Selina was already on the rooftops, jumping between buildings and Bruce was catching up. She wasn't trying to escape, she wanted him to catch her, otherwise she wouldn't have hung around the crime scene let alone get his attention like this. Only a few moment of chase and Bruce was practically on top of her, one skilfully timed leg sweep and he actually would be. Landing on a rooftop right behind Selina, Bruce dropped into a slide, attempting to sweep her off her feet. She saw it coming and jumped over him, landing perfectly still as he slid righty under her and to the opposite side of the roof. Getting to his feet, he balled his fists, slowly walking towards her. He stopped barely a little distance away from her, his imposing figure making her seem even more petite. She looked up at him with a warm smile, one which Bruce could tell was masking pain.

"I heard the rumours but I didn't really believe it," she walked towards him, and as Bruce could could help but notice, swaying her hips rather more than was necessary while she did. "Hey there."

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded with a fury.

"That little game of cat and mouse? I had to be sure it was really you and not some wanna-bat...but I have to say," Selina walked right up to him, one of her hands playfully running down his armored chest. "you've matured wonderfully these last 5 years, like a fine wine."

Grabbing her shoulders Bruce pushed her back.

"You shouldn't be here Selina."

"Really? As I recall it you're the only one of us who retired, if either of us shouldn't be here it's you."

Holding his arm out, Bruce un-balled his fist.

"The painting Selina, give it back."

Bruce could tell Selina was already biting back her hurt, his words obviously pushed her over the edge. Selina stormed towards him, she pushed his hand back down to his side.

"You bastard! You disappeared for 5 years, you didn't say a word and now you're acting like nothing's changed? God damn it, I had no idea what happened to you for weeks, then when I saw Bruce Wayne on the news..." She paused "You know, I thought you'd died."

"I'm not that easy to kill." He stated boldly, doing his best to avoid the topic of why he retired.

"I called in a favour with Canary, she said you told the League you were retiring. The cops stopped shinning your light in the sky too, so they knew. Was I the only one you didn't tell?!" She was practically shouting by the end of her sentence.

"Selina, we aren't doing this now."

"And when the hell do you plan on it?!"

As she finished speaking Selina brought her hand up, quickly swinging it towards Bruce. He smirked and caught her by the wrist.

"Play nice." He grinned, somehow slipping straight back into their old relationship.

"You're not playing at all." Selina retorted and pulled herself away, doing just the same as Bruce.

"No, I'm not, not anymore." Bruce shook himself back into reality.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Selina almost whined.

"It's not the same as it used to be Selina. Gotham, the world, they've moved on, they need something more than just a hero to rely on. They need..."

"Your legend," Selina cut over him "a symbol. They need you. I can't even believe I'm saying this. God do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds...Okay, okay, I get it. Go be a hero."

"I'm no hero Selina."

"No, you're right. You're like me, one of my kind."

"You don't have a kind." Bruce paused, knowing what he needed to ask, "There's a war coming, you know?"

"The war's already here, 'Detective'."

"You can't run away from it for ever."

"Neither can you."

"I don't intend to, but it's going to get bigger. The time's going to come when you'll need to pick a side, Selina."

"Ha!" Selina turned and began to walk away "Your side should pay better."

As Selina took her next step Bruce reached out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into him. Her arms immediately wrapped around his back and she leaned up into a kiss. Bruce knew it was a decision he would more than likely regret but as he felt Selina's lips on his, he began to remember why he'd held such a strong relationship with her before his retirement. He began to deepen the kiss, his grip on her waist becoming a little stronger and his other arm moving to the small of her back. Selina responded the same way, her hands running up and down his back, her clawed gloves scraping against the suit's armor plating. She began to move her hands up Bruce's back, eventually reaching his cowl she began to pull it back. Realizing what was happening Bruce took a step back, quickly pulling his cowl back down.

Selina sighed, knowing she'd pushed him too far. She couldn't help it, after all this time she still had feelings for him; perhaps ones stronger than either of them would care to admit.

Bruce stood up tall again, the demeanor of Batman clicking back into place.

"There's still work to do."

"Do you ever plan on taking a night off again?" She grinned "Do you ever plan on taking the suit off?"

"Not on nights like this." He turned and began to walk away. "Put the painting back."

"Call if you need me." Selina almost pleaded.

Bruce stopped just shy of the edge.

"I won't." Without waiting he dropped of the roof and disappeared.

Back on the rooftop Selina smiled sadly.

"I know, I just wanted to say it."

 **A/N: So this was a little shorter than I had planned but I've been super ill this week, but that another chapter down, I'm not planning on bringing the league in for a little while yet, but are there any characters from Batman's domain you guys want to see come into the story? And I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on possibly introducing a Robin into the mix? Perhaps Damian or Carrie, maybe even Tim? Let me know, I always enjoy hearing what you guys think.**


	6. 5 - Light in the Dark

**A/N: Another short chapter this week, I'm a little busier with exam work and such than I thought I would be so it's difficult for me to write full length chalets each week. I will upload every week though, even if chapters do stay around this length. So I'm adding something a little new this week, I'm going to be replying to comments at the start of each chapter, so everyone can see the answers. So enjoy!**

 **Omaribacache316 - Through the story I'll be looking at most of Bruce's various love interests when I think that character fits into the story. As for Batman vs Superman, I don't want to give anything away so I'll stick to silence, other than saying that there might just be a minor confrontation between the two in the next chapter.**

 **LOTSlover - Batman and Wonder Woman is one of the main pairings I'll write about in this story, being as this is a Justice League story and I can't really ignore Bruce's, sort of, relationship with Diana.**

 **That's it from me, leave a review if you enjoy, that always makes me more enthusiastic to write, or you want to ask me anything.**

* * *

 ****

The moon had begun to set over Gotham, the sun would rise in just over an hour. Bruce collapsed into the drivers seat of the Batmobile and, sealing the cockpit, he pulled down his cowl. The night felt longer than it used to, maybe he had gotten old. Checking the clock on the car's control panel he saw he had little time to do anymore work tonight, it would probably be best to go back to the cave. As he prepared to head for home the comms system on the car kicked into life.

"Bruce, you there?" It was Barbara, hopefully with information for him.

"Go ahead Barbara."

"I went through those phones you got Dick to bring me."

"And?"

"It's bad news, turns out the guy with the military contact..." Barbara sighed "O. C. Cobblepot. Three guesses who that is."

"Penguin." Bruce spat. "He went underground before I retired. Why would he come back?"

"Actually," Barbara interjected, "he never went underground, he left the country. I did a sweep for him on the usual channels and an MI5 file came up."

"He went to Britain?"

"And did pretty well for himself out there, thing is it was as a legitimate business man. He ran a big chain of nightclubs, but the Brits suspected they were a front for smuggling weapons into the country through American imports. They never proved anything but..."

"If they were right he would have made a lot of contacts and a lot of money, now he's come back to Gotham to cash in on the lack of another arms dealer."

"Must be, if Penguin's back you need to warn the commissioner."

"She won't listen, besides I've got no way to convince her to meet me."

"Of course you do." Barbara stated, like he was missing something obvious.

"What?"

"Didn't my dad ever say? Of course he didn't. They never took the signal down, it's a little dusty, but it's still on the roof of GCPD."

Bruce smiled, maybe he did have a way in after all. This would attract the attention of media all across America, maybe he needed it, it was time for the people of Gotham to step out of the shadow of fear.

"Bruce?" Barbara sounded a little concerned, he realised he hadn't answered her.

"If I do this, it'll be loud. There'll be no more pretending Batman isn't back."

"You need to. So everyone knows."

"Thanks Barbara, I'll be back at the cave by sunrise."

"Alright, I'll let Alfred know then head home, good luck Bruce."

Clicking off the comms, Bruce grabbed the wheel, kicking the car into life he swerved back onto the streets of Gotham, racing towards the GCPD building. The roads were quieter now, less traffic roamed them, which played in Bruce's favour. As soon as the signal hit the sky then the whole of Gotham would be able to see it, everyone in Gotham would know he was really back.

Bruce parked the car in an alley a few blocks away from the precinct, not wanting to risk it being caught by some lucky cop. Given that the police were supplied to be on high alert for the presence of Batman there would hardly any officers keeping watch on the exterior of the GCPD building, they probably thought he wouldn't dare come so close to the home of the very people who wanted him out of business. Jumping across the rooftops onto the precinct Bruce took a step down onto the platform where the signal stood. It was covered up with a blue tarpaulin, but they had never taken it down, it had become a part of the cities history and it was as much of a part of Batman's myth as anything else.

Bruce ripped the tarpaulin away and let the wind carry it off somewhere. He pushed the signal up, angling the projector so that it would be seen by all, then he threw the switch. The machine sparked, the old wiring hadn't been used for too long and after a moment the light sprang up into the sky, the symbol emblazoned in the clouds. Bruce took a step back and admired it, it had been far too long since he had seen it. He quickly turned and found a perch above the doorway which lead into the building and waited.

Inside GCPD there was a distinct division in the mood. Many officers there had been around during Batman's active years, and seeing the signal in the sky again was like the re-emergence of hope. For the younger cops in the city, seeing the signal in the sky for the first time was almost awe-inspiring. The Batman had become a legend since his retirement, shifting into a myth, and to see his light in the sky made it seem all the more powerful.

Commissioner Ellen Yindel was sat in her office, unaware of the events happening at the very precinct she ran. The cop from the heist Batman had stopped ran into the room, exhausted even from the short run. The commissioner looked up with impatient eyes.

"What?"

"Commish, you've gotta get out here."

"What's happening?"

"It's him; he's here."

The anger burning behind Yindel's eyes was visible. She rose from her chair and grabbed her gun, looking out of the window. Seeing the signal her eyes widened, she'd never bothered to get rid of the thing, given that Batman was supposed to be dead. She turned and rushed up the stairs, heading to the roof.

The night air was cold when Yindel burst out into it, kicking the roof door open as she did. Gun in hand, she looked around, desperate to see Batman for herself, but there was nothing there. She walked over to the bat-signal and looked at it, checking it couldn't have just been an accident.

"Commissioner." A voice sounded out in the night.

Yindel turned around with a fright, she found himself staring into the eyes of Batman.

Bruce looked at the younger woman, slowly observing her as if she were yet another of the night's prey. Yindel just stared at Batman, not sure how to react, the shock of seeing the Batman for the first time hitting hard. Bruce wasn't surprised, Batman had begun to become a myth again before last night.

"Get the hell outta my city." Yindel spat at the vigilante.

Bruce was a little taken aback by the reaction, he wasn't expecting pleasantries from Yindel but nor he wasn't expecting such a harsh reaction. Putting on the steely guise of Batman, Bruce pushed back.

"This was my city long before you were here."

"Yeah?" Yindel raised the gun "you're under arrest Batman."

"Take it easy, I'm not here to fight you." Batman began "Oswald Cobblepot is back in town, you need to keep your men on high alert."

Yindel looked at Batman even more bitterly than she had done before.

"You've been back one night and you're already bringing Gotham's top criminals back into town."

Bruce decided he'd push the new commissioner a little.

"And what about Victor Fries? He broke out of jail just under a month ago, and the public haven't heard a thing."

"How the hell do you..?" Yindel was getting even more angry. "That's it, I'm bringing you in."

Bruce knew if he pushed Yindel hard enough she would resort to this, it was what he'd been counting on. Taking a step forward towards Yindel, her response was predictable, even a cop like her would be fearful of Batman. Yindel took a step back, exactly what Bruce wanted. Her foot pressed down the power cable for the signal and the old wires couldn't take the strain. The wires sparked and the signal glowed with a blinding light as the bulb exploded. Yindel had to close her eyes to protect them and Bruce used the distraction to dive off the rooftop, pulling his cape out and vanishing into the brightening sky.

As the light from the signal died out Yindel opened her eyes again, raising her gun to where Batman had stood. As her vision faded back in she saw Batman was gone. She dropped her arm in anger, blaming herself for letting the vigilante get away like that. Kicking the roof Yindel turned and headed back into the precinct.

By the time Yindel was back in her office, Bruce was already on his way back to the manor. He took the drive at a slightly quicker pace than usual, the sun was about to come up and Bruce couldn't risk being out in the light. The hidden entrance to the cave was in sight well before the sun even peaked over the horizon. Bruce drove the car into the cave, the segment of the journey now entirely driven by his muscle memory, it was such a familiar experience.

The car came to a halt in the Batcave, climbing out Bruce saw that Alfred was already stood waiting for him with a change of clothes and, what Bruce guessed was, a protein drink.

As the he started to get out of the car Alfred spoke.

"Good morning sir, Miss Gordon ensures me all went well tonight."

Smiling at the old man, Bruce began to shed his costume the moment he was out the car, it took him only a minute to change out of the protective suit and into the fresh outfit Alfred had brought. After hanging the outfit back on it's stand Bruce took the protein drink and quickly drank the liquid.

"It did," Bruce paused for a moment "I'm getting slow in my old age, Alfred."

Taking the glass back off his employer Alfred smiled a little.

"Even you got too old to die young, Master Bruce, though not for lack of trying."

With that Alfred turned and walked away, leaving Bruce to consider what his oldest friend had just said.

Perhaps he was pushing himself a little too hard by trying to start exactly where he left off. Jim had once said that the only reason that Batman had made it so far was luck, in his younger days Bruce had dismissed the idea but now it seemed all the more like a reality. Shaking his head Bruce headed up the stairs to the manor, he needed sleep, as much as he hated to admit it.

Reaching the manor, Bruce paced slowly over to the wall-length windows, he watched the sun begin to rise. The bright rays spilled across the Gotham skyline, Bruce had always thought sunrise was the only time the city looked peaceful. A small grin crept onto his lips, after the city saw the signal in the sky last night the whole of Gotham's criminal population would be breathing a lot easy now the sun was up.

Bruce remained stood at the window for some time carefully observing his city, he knew it better than anyone, he knew it was broken. At the sound of footsteps behind him, Bruce turned to see Alfred walking into the room.

"As much as Gotham may enjoy having the Batman back I trust you haven't forgotten you have a charity gala to attend tonight."

Bruce paused to try and remember, since he gave up the cowl he had attended a lot more charity galas, after a while they became indistinguishable.

"No matter," Alfred began, smiling a little "I shall have your best suit prepared for tonight, in the mean time I suggest we both get some well deserved sleep."

"Not yet Alfred, I'm going to take a look at the MI5 files of Cobblepot then..." Bruce was cut off.

"Master Bruce, as much as you may not like to admit it, even you need sleep."

Bruce smiled, even now Alfred still cared for Bruce as if he were his own.

"I'm not a kid anymore Alfred, you're can't send me to my room like you used to." Bruce chuckled

"I bloody well can if you still want somebody to do your cooking and cleaning."

The pair smiled at each other for a moment then laughed, everything really was the same.


End file.
